Reverse of Arcadia: Rise of Horus
by pokecharmer007
Summary: Waking with no recollection of her past, a young girl begins her new life in the Arcadia Movement. But as the past clashes with the present and a 5000 year old war brews in, she will need her memories more than she had thought. Get your decks and duel disk ready! Riding Duel! Acceleration!
1. Chapter 1

**_~Reverse of Arcadia: Rise of Horus~_**

**_~アルカディア__の_転倒:ホルスの上昇~**

_Summary: Waking with no recollection of her past, a young girl begins her new life in the Arcadia Movement. But as the past clashes with the present and a 5000 year old war brews in, she will need her memories more than she had thought. Get your decks and duel disk ready!_

_Riding Duel! Acceleration!_

* * *

~Chapter 1: Awakening~

"H-HELP!" A little girl about 11 years old shouted. She wore a light pink short-sleeved jacket over a long-sleeved red shirt with golden markings. She wore light purple shorts with a red belt and sneakers with black and pink markings and high socks. Her green hair was done up in two high ponytails on either side of her head with two shoulder-length bangs on both sides of her face. Her gold-grey eyes showed fear as Monkey's with weird staffs surrounded her.

Not far from her stood a teenage girl about the age of 18 with waist-long platinum-blonde hair and jade-green eyes. She wore a Catalina-blue tank top, black jeans-skirt held up by a leather belt with a pair of short black leggings underneath and high-top sport shoes. With her porcelain-like skin, she resembles any doll if she stood very still.

The girl watched as the younger shouted for help in vain. She wanted to help her but her body couldn't move, no matter how much she willed it to. Then, a pair of flaming-red wings came into her view so she turned around to come face to snout with an elegant phoenix-like dragon. Its whole body sparkled in the sunlight with its emerald-green eyes glistering and the golden armor it wore around its neck shimmered with brilliance. The circlet on its head glittered with the ruby set in the middle.

All in all, the creature looked beautiful and elegant as the girl reached out her hand to touch it. Though she was hesitant that it wouldn't like her to be near it, but instead, the dragon lovingly rubbed its feathery head against her cheek, which made her feel warm and a bit nostalgic, like she know this creature.

But then, the entire scenery and the dragon vanished in black as the girl slowly regained consciousness.

* * *

"Divine-sama!" a woman spoke. She wore a wide navy collar surrounded her slender neck, lined with fabric of a murky gold shade. The collar was only the top of a long robe, the shoulder pieces and edges the same darkened shade of blue surrounding a teal center stripe that continued until the bottom of the piece hanging lower than her knees, lined with the same dim shade of gold. Beneath the piece, she wore a white shirt, accompanied with trousers of the same color – the standard Arcadia uniform worn by all Psychic Duelists under the roof of those in charge, such as the man. Her hair was of a brighter shade, pushing it into the territory of titian with hazel eyes. "There's a change in the subject's body."

"What do you mean, Seria?" a man questioned her as he turned to her, cocking an eyebrow. His auburn hair styled in a large quaff above his right eye. Dressed in a black shirt and a sage green vest with a white tie over his torso accompanied with grey trousers beneath, he gave the impression of a professional within the building. The truth being that was the case. His hands, covered by black gloves, hung as a couple behind his back, his dull grey-gold eyes scanning the subject before him. Dressed in the same uniform as Seria, she laid in a pod, a glass roof open over her still-breathing body.

The woman pointed to a curved pattern repeating itself across the monitor, some kind of measurement. "This pattern seems to indicate that the subject may be communicating with the Duel Spirit World."

"So… it seems that they were talking truthfully." Divine mused, grasping his chin with forefinger and thumb, his eyes falling. "Fine, it seems that our research hasn't been wasted on delusions. I was beginning to really question the value of this one."

"Sir, what are you saying?" the woman asked gently, her eyes plastered onto the face of her superior's head.

"I'm saying that we should finally accept this one into the majority of the Arcadia Movement." Divine replied, lifting his eyes to meet her face. "She's been here for almost three years now, undergoing tests to see what worth she has to Arcadia and trying to contact the Duel Spirit World. Everything has been erased in periods as well, and now that she's achieved what we've been waiting for, I believe it's time we move her into Arcadia with the others."

"I'll trust your judgement, Divine-sama." Seria murmured, bowing in front of him. "I'll make the preparations for the transfer."

Divine smirked; everything was going according to plan. Sure, contact with the distant world considered a fable had taken far longer than he had hoped, but it had finally happened regardless. He glanced at the girl (or subject) in the corner of his eye, technically, there was something wrong with her in comparison to the others, but the gift was valuable, and another under investigation had a similar tale. In his eyes, that made them Psychic Duelists; those that would be isolated by society if their truth was uncovered. Just like those he embraced as family.

"None of the others are to learn of this one's ability." he added. "Technically, she doesn't count as a Psychic Duelist but like the others, she has a gift and she needs caring for properly. There is no guarantee that she would be accepted into society any more than those we already have here."

"Yes sir." Seria responded, bowing once again. "Oh! The subject's eyes have opened!" she gasped as she noticed the stirring teen in the pod.

"When this one wakes completely, take her to a room."

"Yes sir!" Seria replied, bowing her head a little.

With that, the man turned and strode out the door. Seria then walked towards the teen who is still clearing her blurry eyes before offering a kind smile.

"How do you feel?" Seria asked.

"A bit sore and thirsty but fine nonetheless." She groaned. "Where am I?"

Seria was surprised but relaxed after realizing the teen had been asleep all these times, even when being experimented on. That's right, the teen was in a coma while being tested on by Divine for three years so it should be no surprise for the youngster to not know where she had been sleeping all these years.

"You're in the Arcadia Movement." she replied.

The teen just tilted her head, which made the woman inwardly cooed at how cute she looked. Who wouldn't? With her porcelain skin and her large jade-green eyes that seem to sparkle in the light, anyone would have thought she's a living doll.

Seria then cleared her throat to get rid of the embarrassing thoughts, "This will be your new home..."

* * *

"Um, so what should we do now..." the teen shyly greeted the two boys who are her new roommates. A while ago, Seria had explained a few things to her about the building; The Arcadia Movement is home to many Psychic Duelists who were abandoned by society just for being different. The teen girl could tell it was painful to be rejected by friends and family. Then again, she wouldn't know since she don't even remember how she even got here in the first place.

Seria had told her she was recently found by Divine, as do many of the Psychics here, after being kicked out by her family. Though she didn't feel that was the case, but what other choices she has to believe?

"Well, usually we wait for orders to come..." one male said, with dirty blonde hair, hanging either side of his forehead, his dull eye browsing through a magazine with a somewhat bored and uninterested look.

"But we could entertain ourselves with a duel." the other suggested, his burnt umber hair was curled into a miniature quiff like the one Divine had sported earlier on. "What do you say, Shio?"

The girl nodded in agreement before strapping on her duel disk, Okita doing the same.

"No powers, okay?" Okita said. "Though being newbies, it shouldn't be a problem."

Shio nodded as they should across the room from each other.

10 minutes later, the duel was still on-going with Shio in the lead in Life Points, though she let out a soft frustrated sigh. Okita has made himself to be more troublesome than he let on when the duel began. Though Liquid did say his deck is full of LP-increasing cards so the longer the duel, the more of an advantage he'll gain. Currently, she had Psycho Whorled with one face-down card behind it while Okita had one face-down card and two face-down card which she suspected will increase his LP again.

**SHIO - OKITA**

**6500 - 4100**

"My turn. Draw!" Shio removed a card from her already shriveling deck to her hand before smirking at the result. "First, I activate the Spell Card: Dust Tornado! And destroy one of your face-down cards!" Shio then pointed to the one left of Okita to reveal Blue Medicine before shattering into pixels. "Then I set two face-down cards!" two holographic cards appeared. "Now I summon Genex Neutron** [ATK 1800]** in Attack Position!" A being appeared consisting of complex components wielded together to form a human-shaped body. Oranges, blacks and grey were brought together to create the form, including large pieces that connected to the arms almost like the equivalent of wings. "Psycho Whorled, attack that face-down!"

The humanoid snail, unlike real snails, sent out a psychic force onto the face-down which revealed to be Heal Waver **[DEF 1600]**.

"Genex Neutron, direct attack!" The Genex monster dove forward, one hand clutched into a fist and pulled back into a punch. Okita raised his right arm to shield himself from the attack as the mechanic being delivered a knuckle sandwich to his duel disk.

**SHIO - OKITA**

**6500 - 2300**

"Through Neutron's effect, I draw Genex Controller!" Shio spoke, holding the card beside her chin. "But for now, I'll end my turn."

Okita nodded before beginning his turn but all he did was set a face-down card, which confused the girl but she wouldn't fall for it.

"I summon Genex Controller **[ATK 1400]** in Attack Position." Shio said as she slapped the said card onto a slot beside Neutron. "But he won't be staying for long since I'm about to tune things up a bit. I'm tuning my Level 3 Genex Controller with my Level 4 Genex Neutron to Synchro Summon..."

The four stars aligned themselves, struck through by a single beam of light that widened, swallowing the ingredients for the Synchro Summoning. From it, a pea green-skinned being appeared, a woman dressed in an azure suit that clung to her skin. Her grey left arm and legs glinted, revealing themselves to be robotic limbs, climbing up the let side of her head. The piece pressed down the leaf green hair that fell level with her knees against her skull. Above each hand, an orb floated: one of darkness surrounded by a white glow hovering over her metallic hand and one of light above her natural green opposite.

"Psycho Health Trancer** [ATK 2400]** in Attack Position!"

"A Synchro Monster?!" Okita exclaimed.

"Give it to him!" Shio ordered.

The half-cyborg craned its iron arm back, moving the black orb slightly. Without warning, it launched the sphere forward, which crackled as it tore through the air and slammed into Okita's duel disk which he used as a shield, thus depleting all of his LP.

**SHIO - OKITA**

**6500 - 0**

"Okita, are you alright?" Shio asked in concern after the holograms disappeared.

"Yes, I am." the brunette assured. "But I must say, you're very impressive. To bring out a Synchro Monster on your first try. Looks like I have to dedicate myself to train some more."

"Seriously, Shio. I'd never seen anyone pulled a fast one in Synchro Summoning before. You must be a natural." Liquid commented.

"I'm not that good." Shio waved the compliment away.

Okita nodded. "Oh yes, you are. Perhaps in time, as you build up your skills, you could be even a challenge for Izayoi Aki-san".

"Izayoi… Aki?" Shio echoed.

"She's a legend in Arcadia." Liquid explained. "According to Divine, she must be one of the most powerful Psychics in this whole Movement. She usually heads out and scouts for more Psychics and get some payback on people outside under the name 'Black Rose Witch'."

"'Black Rose Witch', huh?" Shio mused aloud.

He nodded before turning serious, "Just don't get on the wrong side of her." Liquid warned. "Like I said, she's powerful. And her temper is a dangerous thing. If you manage to piss her off, consider yourself dead."

Shio gulped, fear slowly crept through every fiber of her body as she realized that not everyone in Arcadia could be as friendly as the two with her. How many more of these dangerous people did the Movement hold? Or were people like Izayoi Aki made the way they were _because_ of the Movement?

"Don't scare her, Liquid" Okita sighed. His hand fell onto her shoulder and their eyes met. "It's alright, I've met Izayoi-san; she's not what Liquid makes her out to be. She's a nice person."

"If you say so..."

A whizzing sound filled the air as the automatic door to the room slid open. The three teens all jumped – the boys were on their feet in an instant.

In walked Divine in his all mighty glory as he watched the trio with stern eyes before he stopped at Shio who flinched when she felt his attention suddenly on her.

"Shio, come here for a bit." Said teen stiffly marched towards the man who chuckled at her stiffness. "No need to be so stiff, my dear."

"Y-Yes sir!"

"I need you to do an errand for me." the girl nodded. "I want you to do a little shopping. Seems like the kitchen staff had forgotten to buy ingredients for dinner tonight and the other staff are too busy with their own work so I only have you to help."

"Well, it's fine with me, sir but... Only problem is... I don't know my way around here."

"No need to worry. I had already arranged someone to accompany you." he then turned to the door which whizzed open again to reveal a girl the same age as her. She had fair skin, brown eyes, and dark burgundy hair. Her hair was mostly chin-length with the addition of long, elbow-length bangs that frame both sides of her face. She had rolled her front bangs with a device similar to a hair curler on top of her head while a bit hangs down on each side.

She wore a low-cut red corset with short, light green puffy sleeves and a high collar. She also sports a sleeveless magenta trench coat that flares behind her which is shorter and pleated in the front. She wears a red neck choker and an emerald crested, golden cross-shaped medallion, as well as a pair of dark, elbow-length gloves with a pair of gold bracelets above them. Her stockings are the same color as her gloves, and are connected to her skirt and she wore red high heeled pumps/sandals with them.

"Shio, this is Izayoi Aki. She'll help you with the errand." Divine introduced.

'So this is Izayoi-san. Wow, she's so pretty.' Shio thought.

"U-Um, nice to meet you..." Shio greeted.

The other teen gave her a smile, "likewise, Shio."

'Wow, Okita is right. She is nice. I think I like her.'

"Shall we?"

"Uh, hai, Izayoi-san!"

"Please, call me Aki."

"Hai, Aki-san!"

* * *

It was already half past noon when the two girls finished their shopping. Shio was carrying all of it since it wasn't much and Aki was wearing a cloak and had a mask on. It had struck to her as odd the first time but remembered Okita about her being called the 'Black Rose Witch' outside of the Movement building. So far, they didn't come across any trouble since they're using a semi-deserted street so as to avoid trouble.

Shio furrowed her brows. How can people be so blind? How can they just reject someone just for having powers? Not only that, even family members rejected their own kind for being different.

Aki then noticed the sudden change of the new girl since as far as she know, the shorter girl is a very cheerful yet shy girl, "Shio, is something wrong?"

That snapped her out of her self-ranting, "I'm... fine. It's just... I can't seem to understand why other people shunned us away? Like we're a bunch of monsters? We're humans like them. We're living beings like them."

Aki then realized what she meant, "Well, that's the dark side of humanity. They'll reject anything that's different from them, even if they look and talk like them. Many of the Psychic in Arcadia were either thrown out of their homes or had been abandoned by society."

"...I sort of understand how they feel but at the same time, don't..." Shio said. "I have to confess, I don't have any recollection of my past or anything so I don't know how they had feel."

"Divine-sama had told me of your situation. He said he found you not too long ago, after being kicked out of your family. Though he didn't inform me that you had amnesia. It must have been from the sudden shock of your abandonment." Aki said.

"Well, as much as I want to know of my past and my family, I much rather stay in Arcadia."

"Of course, you're family now." Aki then hugged the shorter girl who hugged back.

The moment was ruined when a bunch of punks walked towards them. All of them had piercings on their ears and nose, and wore the same clothes, which Shio deduced they might have been in a gang, though their hairstyle differs from each other, except for one who is completely bald.

"Hey! What are you two doing on our turf!" the bald guy shouted.

"Um... leaving?" Shio then tugged on Aki's cloak as they made a roundabout around them but was again blocked by a punk with a purple-colored Mohawk.

"Leaving so soon? Why can't you stay for the fun?" the punk asked coyly which sent a shiver down her spine.

"Um, can't. In a hurry." Shio meekly said before jumping when another with a green-colored mop head wrapped an arm around her waist. Her eyes starts to water as she tried her best to get out of the grip but to no avail until...

"Get your slimy hands off her!" a sudden gust of wind blew in as Aki ripped her cloak off her and put on her duel disk. The wind surprised the men which gave a chance for Shio to escape out of the punk's grip. She hid behind Aki as the punks one by one placed on their duel disks.

"Wanna duel? I'll give you one!" the bald man shouted to her.

Shio then backed away as she prepared herself for a duel as well with the same mop head who tried to feel her up.

"You're gonna regret that!"

"DUEL!" the quartet commenced.


	2. Chapter 2

**_~Reverse of Arcadia: Rise of Horus~_**

**_~アルカディア__の_転倒:ホルスの上昇~**

_Summary: Waking with no recollection of her past, a young girl begins her new life in the Arcadia Movement. But as the past clashes with the present and a 5000 year old war brews in, she will need her memories more than she had thought. Get your decks and duel disk ready!_

_Riding Duel! Acceleration!_

* * *

~Chapter 2: Memories~

Two hours later, we find the female duo safely back at the Arcadia Movement after dealing with the punks, in Aki's case, harshly. Currently, Shio is retelling what happened when she was out doing her errand with Aki, adding the harsh punishment for the poor fellow who was feeling Shio up.

"Well, he deserved it. What a sicko." Liquid mumbled as he sipped his drink. The trio were having a lunch break after training in the cafeteria where Shio was introduced many of the duelists in the movement.

"Yes, quite an ordeal you both were in. Luckily, nothing bad happened to you." Okita said.

"I don't think so. Unlike Aki-san, I wasn't wearing a mask or anything to cover my appearance so those guys would know what or how I looked like. Adding the fact our duel attracted quite a crowd."

_After Shio had dealt the final blow to the mop head, she was then aware of the ever-growing crowd that surrounded her. Aki was calling out her name... or rather her fake name, "Chihiro", by order of Divine as he said it's for her protection since she had apparently quite a reputation with Security in the past and to keep her out of her families' eyes._

_She was able to escape when she pulled the old "Look! A UFO!" trick which, strangely, worked and the two girls were running for home (not literally)._

"I don't think I can ever walk outside again." Shio then slumped her head on the table while her two friends were amused.

"Cheer up, Shi-Shi! I'm sure it'll be just fine. In just a few days, they'll completely forget you." Liquid assured, adding his nickname for the girl.

"Thanks." Shio smiled before realizing what Liquid just called her. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Shi-Shi, my nickname for you, or would you rather be called "Salty"?" Liquid laughed at his own joke which earned him a salt shaker to his head.

"Very funny, comedy man." Shio said after chucking the shaker at him as she rest her head on her hand while contemplating the nickname which sound so familiar. She then suddenly felt light-headed as a flash appeared in her mind.

_"Oi, Shi-Shi! Hurry up, will ya!" a very young boy's voice called. But she couldn't make out the figure. He was waving at her with this broad grin._

_Another flash happened and the scene changed to someone standing directly in front of her, their back facing her and arms stretched out wide._

_"Stop picking on Shi-Shi!" this time, the voice is different, still young, and sounded a little deeper than the first._

_Another flash occurred again and again, another young boy was crouching down to her while petting her head as if to console her._

_"It'll be alright, Shi-Shi. We'll protect you."_

Shio was then snapped out of her daydream after that last one to find her friends staring at her in concern.

"You alright?" Liquid asked.

"Just a little dizzy. But I'm fine now."

The two nodded as they headed towards their next training.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the street where Shio and Aki had their duel with the punks who are still disoriented,

Standing at where the duel was commencing was a teen like her with tan skin, black hair with gold highlights, and blue eyes. The upper layer of his hair juts upward while the lower layer arches down. He wore a long-sleeved blue jacket with a high collar and amber gems, over a sleeveless black shirt with a red symbol, and wears gloves below his elbows with an amber gem on them. His lower body consists of black jeans with amber knee pads, a belt with two Deck holsters hidden under his jacket and calf-high motorcycle boots. A jagged criminal marker is visible on the left side of his face.

This man is Fudo Yusei. A recent Satellite escapee who was invited to the Fortune Cup by Rex Goodwin, through threats of finishing his friends off.

He was just coming back from an errand he had been doing when he heard a commotion down the street so he decided to check out, only to find a masked duelists which, undoubtedly, is the 'Black Rose Witch' Rua was talking about if the rose painted on the mask was anything to go by, dueling a man who was already feeling disheartened by the power of a Psychic Duelist before turning his attention to another duel going on. He could see another of the bald man's gang but couldn't see the other, only when the crowd began to scatter after knowing the monsters were real, did he saw the other duelist.

A girl his age with waist-long platinum-blonde hair and jade-green eyes. He could have mistaken her for any other until he saw the way she dueled and the way she handled tough situations.

'It can't be...' He was about to call out her name when the masked witch call out, "Chihiro! Let's go!"

Yusei watched the girl trying to escape the crowd but to no avail so he decided to help, but the girl managed to find a solution.

She suddenly turned and pointed skyward, "Look! A UFO!"

He would have anime-fall at that obvious trick if not for the crowd, including his friends, being fooled by it, letting 'Chihiro' a chance to escape, following the masked duelist. He knew there and then that the girl was Shio; who else would be so unpredictably shout out the oldest and most obvious trick in the book?

Yusei then took out a picture and smiled lovingly at it.

The picture was of him and Shio when they were very young, about 8-9, with two more of their friends in front of an old orphanage. The girl was standing at the very front of the boys with Yusei wrapping his arms around her neck from behind and their two friends standing by each side; one posing a peace sign while the other had his arm around Yusei's shoulders. All of them were smiling happily and blissfully, not a care in the world.

'I'll find you, Shio... I promise.' he rubbed the girl in the picture's cheek before pocketing it back to his pocket.

* * *

Three days later,

The Arcadia trio are currently resting in their room; Liquid and Okita are dueling with Shio acting as the referee while pointing out some flaws in their action when Divine walked into their room with Aki in tow. The trio stood in a line at attention, waiting for any orders he was about to give.

"The next operation to be carried out by our very own Arcadia Movement has been decided upon. The target will be the Sector Security Tournament, also known as the Duel of Fortune Cup. Apparently a number of Duelists with amazing skill will participate in this Tournament." He spoke. "Aki has been chosen as one of the participants."

Said teen walked up to stand beside Divine before she smiled at Shio who returned the gesture.

"So what is our mission, sir?" Shio asked.

"I need the three of you to infiltrate the rear of the event in order to support her." He glanced at them before landing on the pale-blonde girl in the middle. "That being said, it looks like you don't have enough power now to bend a psychic duel to your will. The three of you will have to work together, consider it a kind of field training." He turned back to Aki. "Aki, make sure you give those other contestants a real taste of your powers!"

"Yes, sir," Aki replied. "Everything will be as you wish, Divine."

"All right," Divine announced. "You three, head over to the tournament. Don't fail me!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Divine nodded and walked back outside with Liquid and Okita. The girls hung back.

"Aki-san, good luck at the tournament." Shio said.

"Arigato, Shio." she thanked. "I wish you could also be in the tournament. You're a pretty good Duelist yourself."

Shio lightly blushed at the compliment, "I'm not that good. Anyways, we should hurry."

* * *

Shio groaned in frustration when she was met with another dead-end. It had been over an hour since she and the boys first arrived at the stadium. Liquid then decided to split up so they won't be caught so easily but, as things turned out, someone has to get lost and that unfortunate someone had managed to come across at least ten dead-ends.

"Ok, this is getting a little bit annoying. Just how big is this place?!" Shio sighed after she got out of the hallway she had previously entered which led into a dead-end before turning to another. "Aki-san's duel could be ending in any moment." she whispered as she sped down the long hallway before she come across a double door. "Let's hope this'll lead me to the waiting room." she threw the doors open but, instead of a lounging room, was a fenced in area next to the Riding Duel track and the middle is the Duel Field where she found Aki facing off with a fairly tanned guy. She could tell Aki's emotions are broiling over, despite being quite far from the field, thanks to a large holographic projector just above the field.

Aki began to shout at her opponent, a faint purple aura glowing around her. The emotions driving her power were growing stronger.

"_Black Rose Dragon's effect activates!" _Aki called, throwing her arm above her wild locks. _"Black Rose Gale!"_

The dragon of black scales and rose petals unleashed a fierce roar, its eyes glowing pink as its power began. The thorny whips waved once a sudden gust kicked up. The effects could be seen across the Stadium, Okita was right – Aki's powers were brutally active. The circuit for Riding Duels began to crack, previously damaged sections shattered completely, throwing shards of glass and poles bent to support the track into the howling air, mingling with the dark petals already thrown into the air from the creature.

"_It will destroy all cards on the field!"_

"_I'll catch anything you dish out!"_ the dark-haired teenager shouted back. _"Vent out all of your sorrow! Victim Sanctuary!"_

The glorious white and blue dragon above him spread its shimmering wings despite the harsh gales. The limbs became arms as it soared across the field, slamming into Black Rose and closing its wings around the floral body.

"Aki-san?!" Shio cried out, griping the fence.

The darker creature shrieked as the two collided, unable to escape the power of the opponent. The thorny whips lashed out, striking the dragon repeatedly, across its entire body, but the light creature clung on regardless. After a number of seconds that passed like minutes, Black Rose began to glow, dissolving into the furious air, followed by the light dragon.

Aki stood limply, her long fringe hanging over her half-masked face. Her right arm moved, showing a strange glow in the shape of a narrow claw.

"_The pain is fading away…"_ she whispered.

The Magic card activate on the guy's field faded, he set his azure eyes on Aki, the tornado in between them began to calm. Within seconds, it blended into the calmed air.

"_Now Phoenixician Cluster Amaryllis is freed from Prevent Star's spell, your field is wide open."_ he stated. _"If I land a direct attack, I'll win."_

"_I wish everything would just go away."_ Aki hissed. _"Don't try to make me think. You're indeed a wretched foe!"_

"_If I am, why are you crying?"_ the boy asked.

Aki gasped, lifting her head. Down the exposed left cheek, tears could be seen trickling down. The boy on the screen stretched his right arm, showing that it, too, was glowing with a strange shape.

"_Trap card – Cosmic Blast!"_ he declared strongly. _"When a Dragon-type Synchro Monster is removed from the field, it'll inflict damage equal to the monster's attack power"._

A transparent replica of the pale dragon that had slammed into Black Rose only a moment beforehand appeared above him, its arms and legs stretched and ready to be put to use in tackling the last barrier between him and victory that was Aki's remaining life points. The ghost dragon shrieked and rose higher, capturing the whirlwind that still lived with petals caught in its force, the wings of the creature closed around the winds. Purple light exploded from the spirit, which shattered suddenly. A pink glowing petal, hardened by the dragon's will slammed into Aki's mast, between her eyes, she gasped as it collided, splitting the already damaged mask into two halves that fell from her face as she leaned over. Her final 1900 life points plummeted to nothing, the duel was over.

Izayoi Aki… has lost.

"No..." Shio gasped as her hand flew to cover her mouth in disbelief.

* * *

An hour later, we see Shio escorting a disheartened Aki back to where they were supposed to meet Divine and the boys. After her defeat against a Satellite named Fudo Yusei, she was momentarily escorted down the field by guards when Shio came by to escort her back. Though they were a bit hesitant, until the blonde girl gave them a fierce glare.

"**Back. Off!**" she firmly said, which did the job as the guards stepped away from the girls. She wasn't the type of girl to be easily annoyed or angered but she can be scary when she does. Shio then guided Aki through the hallway before she got a glimpse of the man who defeated her friend.

Said man had came rushing by to check on Aki but was stopped by a few news reporter who wanted to interview him for defeating the 'Black Rose Witch'. Using this as an opportunity, Shio grabbed Aki's hand and they both slipped down the hallway, unnoticed. Once they got to their meeting area, the girls quickly entered a room.

"You did great, Aki, regardless of the outcome of that one duel" Divine whispered as he draped his jacket over her. "He just got in your head and knew what buttons to push. We'll get him the next time he dares to fight you. Let's just go home and get you some rest."

"But… Divine, I-" Aki attempted weakly. She was still confused, lost, wanting someone to tell her what to do. Where to go. Something was different about her; she wasn't the same girl from the night before.

Shio's eyes softened as she heard the tone of Aki's voice; this wasn't the destructive powerhouse that she had been told about, this wasn't the kind celebrity she had seen the night before. This was an entirely new Izayoi Aki. And it made her feel sorry for the girl. Divine moved his eyes to the stationary trio.

"Well, this makes beginning the withdrawal much easier." he commented with a slight smirk. "We're heading back to Arcadia."

"Yes, Sir!"

As they piled out of the room, Shio lagged behind as she was deep in thought about the Duelist who bested Aki.

'Why did he seem so familiar?' she thought before a bad migraine attacked her. She grabbed her head, trying to ease the pain but to no avail. She blacked out, faintly hearing someone calling her name.


	3. Chapter 3

**_~Reverse of Arcadia: Rise of Horus~_**

**_~アルカディア__の_転倒:ホルスの上昇~**

_Summary: Waking with no recollection of her past, a young girl begins her new life in the Arcadia Movement. But as the past clashes with the present and a 5000 year old war brews in, she will need her memories more than she had thought. Get your decks and duel disk ready!_

_Riding Duel! Acceleration!_

* * *

~Chapter 3: Brainwashed and a blast from the past~

The next thing she knew, she was back at the movement building, sleeping on a bed with Liquid and Okita sitting nearby. She groaned a bit as she sat up, holding her head from a minor headache. She then looked up to the two boys to find them deep asleep. She wondered why Liquid was sleeping on the couch when realization came to her that she was sleeping on his bed.

She giggled at the strange sleeping position the blonde had taken up to be comfortable on the very uncomfortable couch. Her smile then turned into a frown as she remembered her dream/vision she had.

_(Dreamscape)_

_She could feel the sunset's warmth as she, along with two other guys, stood in front of an abandoned building on a cliff. One has violet eyes, fair skin and spiked blonde hair. While the other has tan skin, black hair with gold highlights, and blue eyes. She didn't know them but they felt familiar._

_"Looks like it was a breeze for the both of you, huh?" the blonde said, putting the other boy in a headlock._

_"Yeah, I guess it was!" he replied as he turned to her with a smile. "I mean, we're good friends after all."_

_She felt herself grinning widely before doing a peace sign, "You got that right, Yusei!"_

_(End Dream)_

"Yusei... why does it sound so familiar? It seems like I know him in the dream but..." Shio pondered before deciding to rest herself.

* * *

The next day,

We find Liquid and Shio walking down the streets of Neo Domino City towards their destination. They chatted lively during their walk.

"It's too bad Okita couldn't come." the blonde said as he put his hands behind his head.

"It can't be helped. He's too busy cleaning **your** mistakes. You should be thankful." Shio sighed.

"It's not my fault that Psycho Commander missed the shot and headed directly for the teacher!"

"And almost injuring a few other of our classmates as well." Shio added.

"I can't helped it if I can't control my psychic powers." he retorted before huffing in annoyance. Shio giggled, it's fun poking at Liquid's mistakes. Said teen glared at the shorter blonde, "That's it! We'll see who's laughing afterwards when I keep you in the dust during our Riding Duel Training!"

"You're on!"

They finally reached the track where a guy stood in front of the gate in the Arcadia movement outfit.

"Morning, you two." Kawasaki greeted.

"Hey!" "Morning."

"Today, we'll be doing Riding Duel Training." He told them. "First, you better suit up into proper riding suits. Then, meet back here when you're ready." The two nodded before going to their respective changing rooms. Once they emerged wearing their suits, Kawasaki had readied the D-Wheels. "Now we'll start by seeing how well you can drive it. It won't be a Riding Duel if you can't drive or control a D-Wheel."

"Right!"

Liquid rushed to the D-Wheel on the left while Shio calmly walked towards hers on the right. Once they were seated, they waited for the signal. Slowly revving the engine as Kawasaki raised the flag, they suddenly shot off the second he dropped it.

At first, they were neck and neck as they perfectly did the first turn. But when the obstacles came in, Liquid starts to slow down while Shio shot forward at breakneck speed. Normally for beginners, it can be counted as suicidal since they're not used to the speed but Shio felt the speed was normal to her. She found that the wind and the speed felt so familiar. She gracefully dodged the electric field that fizzles out from time to time and the moving pillar that goes up and down. How they managed to set up those things were beyond her. Then soon after, she reached the finishing line.

The D-Wheel skidded to a stop right in front of Kawasaki who was grinning like a child getting a Christmas present.

"Shio, my dear. You'll be a great Riding Duelist in the future. Keep it up!" he praised.

"Thank you, sir!"

* * *

Yusei collapsed on a nearby bench, trying to catch his breath. He looked around the area before sighing in relief to see that he had lost the news crew.

Ever since he became the new King of Games, he had developed a new-found respect for his old friend, Jack Atlas. It must take a _lot_ of stamina (and experience) to get away from all the media and groupies. Him, on the other hand, barely managed to escape without getting trampled.

'How he managed to do that is beyond me...' he sighed.

Then he heard voices from a distance and looked up automatically. His whole body was nearly out of the bench getting ready to escape in case it's the paparazzi again. But upon closer look suggested that they were not as there were two teens his age, one guy and one girl. As they walked nearer, Yusei saw that they wore the uniforms for the Arcadia Movement, the same organization that Aki was a part of.

"Seriously, you just disappeared right at that second!" the boy exclaimed. "Not only that, you also left me in the dust! I guess you'll be the one laughing at my pathetic performance just now."

"Come on, Liquid. It wasn't that bad." the girl replied. "Except you crashed into the pillar..."

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want." the boy, Liquid, huffed. "But seriously, how did you manage to do so well on your first try? You haven't been practicing behind my back, have you?"

"Liquid, I doubt I can find my way to the track without anyone's help. And besides, that was my first ride!"

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe you're just a natural."

"Come on, I'm not that good." the girl waved away the compliment.

Yusei watched the two teens as they walked closer to where he is before he got a good look at the girl. 'Isn't she the one with Aki that time? Chihiro?' He had a suspicion that Chihiro was his long-time friend but he had trashed that idea away. 'You're kidding yourself, Yusei. The stress must be getting to you... it's been three years since that incident. She's not going to pop out of nowhere like she hasn't been gone for three years...'

"Come on, Shi-Shi. You're just being humble. Give yourself some credit!" the blonde boy said.

Yusei's eyes shot opened, though he didn't remembered having them close but he didn't care about that.

'What?! Did he just said...'

"I'm not! And stop calling me 'Shi-Shi'! It's 'Shio'!" she argued. "And don't try saying 'Salty'." the boy raised his arms in defense.

After hearing the name coming out of the girl's mouth, Yusei shot up from the bench before shouting, "Shio!"

The two teens paused in their walk and turned to him. The girl's eyes were like two green pools void of everything, unlike the jade-green ones that are always filled with happiness and compassion he used to know. Yusei took a step back in shock at the soulless eyes.

"Liquid, who's he?" the girl asked, making his heart clenched. How can she not remember him?! Has she simply forgotten everything they had been through?!

"He's the one who beat Jack Atlas, the previous king of games. I think he's called... Fudo Yusei." the male blonde replied. "Why? You know him? He did know your name."

"Not that I recall..." the girl simply said as she held her head. Suddenly she gasped, and held her head as she grunted in agony.

"Whoa, Shio!" Liquid caught her before she fell. "Hey, you alright? You don't look so good."

"Shio!" Yusei called to her but before he could take two steps, Divine appeared with a smug smirk.

"Well, well," he said, "if it isn't Fudo Yusei. How about you stay out of my business?" he then turned to the two blondes. "Liquid, bring her back to Headquarters."

Liquid nodded before draping a comforting arm around Shio's shoulder and guided her back.

Both men watched the two walked out of sight before Yusei glared at the auburn-haired man, "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Yusei." Divine replied, smirk still in place. "Now if you'll excuse me, that poor girl is in need of medical attention."

He chuckled menacingly, leaving cold shivers down his spine as he watched Divine followed after the two.

"...Shio..."

* * *

"I'm seeing a decrease in the level of consciousness, sir," Seria told Divine as she watched the girl's brainwave slowly became inactive. "At this rate, the subject will pass out on us."

"So," Divine mused as he stared at the girl's still body, "The brainwashing is wearing off?"

"That's right," Seria replied. "It appears that the subject experienced a great shock related to a past event."

"Fudo Yusei...!" Divine growled. "Time and time again, he keeps getting in my way! If he gets any closer to this one, it could spell big trouble for us. I did not spent three years experimenting this girl just for it to revert back to Square One! Let's strengthen the brainwashing so that the subject can better resist these pests from the past!"

"B-but..." Seria stammered, sounding concerned. "Sir, the brainwave isn't stable! If we push it too far, we could endanger the subject's life!"

"Humph! I see... we can't afford to lose such an important asset. Preserving the subject's life takes priority. We'll have to conduct more brainwashing later." Seria nodded while she inwardly sighed a sigh of relief.

Shio, though deep asleep, had heard what has been going on: apparently, she was brainwashed by Divine (the very person she was grateful for 'saving her life'), she was _being experimented_ on by the same person and those dreams she had been having were actually her memories.

Then she felt her consciousness drifting away into some distant memories that had been locked away due to Divine's brainwashing.

* * *

"Wah!" Shio shouted as she jumped out of bed before landing on the floor on her back. Her vision was still blurry but she could make out a figure standing over her.

"Geez, Shio. Talk about waking on the wrong side of the bed." the figure chuckled at her dilemma. At first she couldn't recognize the person but as her vision became clearer and saw the grinning person, she remembered the very first vision she had about that broadly grinning boy.

"...Crow?" she called uncertainly. The boy was about at least a year younger than her, had bright orange hair and grey eyes. His outfit consisted of an orange t-shirt with a brown sleeveless vest, olive-green forearm length gloves with the fingers cut off, a blue headband with two silver rings, dark green pants, and greenish brown boots. He had a criminal marker on his face; an 'M' on his forehead.

"Aw, come on, I'm hurt! You don't recognize your own best friend, Crow?" he feigned a hurt expression.

She giggled as she stood up from the ground, "Sorry, got kinda disoriented for a minute."

Crow chuckled. "Glad to see you're lookin' normal now! But how about we make sure with a duel?" The words had barely left his mouth than did a look of realization cross his face. "Darn it, I forgot! Sector Security took our cards yesterday! Those Securities _really_ get on my nerves sometimes!"

"So what now?" she asked.

"What do you think? We sneak into the Securities' storage facility and get our decks back!"

"Uh huh... as if they'll let us waltz to them and politely ask for our decks back."

"Relax, I got it covered." Crow said. "All we need is a distraction and someone to sneak into the facility." Crow went over to a nearby bookshelf and pulled off a Sector Security uniform with the helmet. "And the perfect person to sneak in... is you, Shio."

"Why's that?"

"Well, someone's got to do it since I'll be diversion." The orangette then walked out of the room, giving Shio some privacy as she changed into the uniform. After putting on the helmet, she realized that she looked like any other Security in Satellite. The fact that Crow has a female uniform of it and of the right size stayed locked up in her mind as she doesn't want to know where he even got them from.

"Okay! All set to go!" Crow cried as Shio joined him outside, fully dressed in disguise. "The storage facility is just around the corner. I'm gonna lure out the Securities guarding the gate, you hide somewhere over there, then when we run past, you make a break for it!"

"Alright!" she replied as Crow handed her a storage facility key card that Crow, no doubt, swiped it from some unsuspecting Security.

Crow took off towards the facility. Once he reached, he noticed there was one Security guarding the entrance. He scoffed, 'Seriously, they think they're so clever.' "Hey, securities! Looks like you got nothing to do!"

The guard heard him and turned, "Hm? You're one of the duel gang members from yesterday! What are you doing _here_ then, eh?"

"Ohhh, it's you! Have all your bruises healed?" Crow snickered, obviously attempting to elicit an angry response.

That's exactly what he got. "GAH! You're gonna pay for that, punk!"

Crow then made a run for it as they started a cat and mouse chase.

"Get back here, scum!"

Once they're far away, Shio came out of her hiding place from behind a wall before running towards the facility. Sliding the key card through the scanner next to the door; it made a beeping sound, indicating that the door had unlocked. She entered and tried to act as natural as possible since the place is crawling with them. She saluted a few passing-by before attempting to walk around, trying to find the storage that held all of the confiscated decks and cards but not having much luck.

"You there!" a voice suddenly spoke to her, making her jumped a bit. She turned to find a higher-rank Security, due to the badge he had pinned on. "What are you doing loitering around here?"

'Act natural.' "I beg your pardon, Sir! I'm actually new to the job so I'm still finding my way around here." she fibbed.

"I see. Where were you supposed to go?"

"I was supposed to go to the storage where they held the confiscated decks and cards since I managed to confiscate a few from some Satellites." Truthfully, she didn't have any cards on her.

"Well, for a rookie, you did pretty well. It's the one down this hallway behind you." the man pointed the direction and she thanked him for it. Upon entering said storage, Shio was surprised at the many drawers that are definitely filled with Duel Monster cards.

'I hope they don't mind me taking some for the kids.' she thought as she rummaged through the drawers until she found her scarlet-red card holder and Crow's deck. After fishing out a few cards, she saluted the guard again before making her exit back to Crow's home.

"Oh, you're finally back!" Crow exclaimed when he saw her. "Took ya long enough!"

"Try getting lost in the facility with no idea where the card storage is." she retorted as she gave back his deck. Then she suddenly felt weights on her legs so she looked down to a little boy and girl hugging around her legs.

"Okaeri, Shio-nee!" they both greeted.

"Tadaima, Itsuki, Annie." Both Itsuki and Annie were two of the orphaned kids that Crow took care of. All of the kids looked up to her as a sisterly and motherly figure since... well, she's the only girl in the group, other than Martha.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Crow burst out suddenly, startling her a bit. "Yusei was lookin' for ya."

"Yusei is?" Shio blinked.

"Yep!" he chirped. "Ah, young love..."

"What's with you all of a sudden?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Come on! You know what I mean!" she continued with a blank look. "...damn, you're more oblivious than we thought. Looks like Yusei has to work harder. Couldn't blame him since his knowledge of women barely fills a cup."

Shio rolled her eyes as she walked out of the house and headed towards the old highway. Sometimes, she can never understand boys...


End file.
